Process of treating sulfid ores.



OTOKAR FRONEK, OF CLEVELAND, 01110, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERAL LABORATORY COMPANY, A

CORPORATION OF OHIO.

PROCESS OF TREATING SULFI'D ORES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 5,1907.

Application filed April 6, 1906. Serial N 0. 810,231.

To a. whom 115' may concerni- Be it known that I, O'roKAR FRoNEK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of L/uyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful improvements in 'lrrocesses of 'lreating tlullid Ores, of which the following is a specification. v

The object of this invention is to provide an economical process of treating sulnd, ores, more particularly such as contain lead and zinc together with silver, for the purpose ofconverting the constituent metals into chlorids. The chlorids obtained may be thereafter treated for the separation of the metals in pure state by any suitable or known I method.

In the treatment of ores of this character it has heretofore been proposed to suspend them in a bath of fused zinc chlorid or of a mixture of chlorids of zinc and lead, and to subject them therein to the action of chlorin (See United States 'l:'at-

'lhis process is subject to a number of disadvantages, among which may be mentioned the loss of zinc chlorid by volatilization when the fused mass is heated to the vaporizing-point of sulfur and the fact that it is impracticable to treat in this manner ores which contain more than thirty per cent. of gangue by reason of the lack of fluidity of the resulting mixture.

' the temperature is raised to According to th1s invention an alKali metal chlorid, preferably sodium chlorid, is added to form with part or all of the zinc chlorid contained in the fused bath a double salt. The sullid ore is mixed with or suspended in such fused double salt and is subjected therein to the action of a chloridizing agent, as free chlorin or sulfur chlorid. (lure possesses marked advantages, as follows: First, the resultingv mixture has, as compared with zinc chlorid, a lowermelting-point, but a higher volatilizing point. This not only insures that no zinc chlorid shall be lost when a point sulilicient to'volatilize the separated sulfur, but it permits the initial fusion of the bath to be accomplished with relatively little difliculty.

Second, the bath is comparativel y very fluid 'l'hls proceand mobile. This not only facilitates the distribution of the gaseous'chloridizing agent,

enabling it to react upon all of the suspended ore, but it permits the treatment of ores which contain a relatively high percentage of gangue-say, in excess of thirty per cent. the treatment of which in a bath consisting of zinc chlorid alone or of chlorids of zinc and lead is impracticable by reason of the pasty character of the bath.

I prefer to proceed substantially as follows: A mixture of zinc chlorid and sodium chlorid, which may be used in approximately molecular proportions, is fused in a suitable vessel and a quantity'of the ore mixed with sodium chlorid is added theretb. The resulting mixture is then subjected to the action ofa chloridizing'agent, as chlorin or sulfur chlorid, preferably introduced at or near the bottom of the mass. In case chlorin is used the corresponding ,metallic chlorids are formed with liberation of sulfur, as is well understood, the sulfur subliming and being collected in a suitable chamber. 1n case sulfur chlorid is employed the reaction is similar save that sulfur is set free both from the ore and the sulfur chlorid. The resulting metallic chlorids may be purified from compounds of iron or manganese and'treated for the separation of the metal or metals by known methods.

The salt is preferably mixed with the ore before adding the same to the fused chlorid bath, since in this way the composition of the mixture is readily maintained substantially constant.

The invention is not restricted to the use of the salt in molecular proportions or in any specific proportions, the essential feature being the employment of a sulhcient quantity to accomplish the advantages above set forth.

I claim 1. The process of treating sulfid orescontaining zinc which consists in subjecting them to a chloridizing agent in presence of a molten bath containing zinc chlorid and sodium chlorid in approximately molecular proportions, substantially as described.

2. The process of treating sullld ores which consists in adding to the ore a chlorid of an alkali metal, introducingthe mixture into a bath containing molte'n chlorids, and.

sodium, and subjecting it therein to a chlolq ridizing agent, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 1n presence of two Witnesses.

OT-OKAR FRONEK.

Witnesses: I

THOMAS PIWONKA, A. S. P1WONKA.. 

